Fitting a Rear-Proj TV into basement (1 Viewer)

[Ron S]

Hi all. I have recently bought a condo, and am looking into making most of the finished basement into a home theater. It really is the only place practical, space-wise. The problem is, access to the basement is limited by a 90 degree turn in the stairs, with full walls on all sides. No walk-out, miniscule windows (which actually would help with lighting concerns).
I unfortunately don't have the exact width (won't have access to it yet for another month) of the stairway, but it seems standard. Washing machines, dryers, and freezers are currently in the basement, so I know that at least *some* large equipment is *fittable*.
Needless to say, I'm concerned that my rear projection tv I intend to buy will fit! I'm interested in the Panasonic PT-56WXF95, but am also considering the Pioneer SD-532-HD5. 'Twould be a disaster to buy one and have it NOT fit through the stairs. Does anyone have similar experiences or problems? I've searched the web and came up mostly empty. One good idea I've seen is to build a "mock-up" of the set with 1" wood to the exact dimensions of the set, and see how (or IF) it would fit. I'm hoping that others here can give me some insight into this potential problem, as the test fit will have to wait for us to actually occupy the place, a long month away.

 

[Bob D]

Ron,
I think the mock-up is probably a good idea. I did the same with a rear projection I was considering. I didn't feel the need to build a three-dimensional mock-up but just built the footprint which was the largest part of the set I was considering. This will give you somewhat of an idea of how the set may or may not fit in your designated area. Worked well for me, found that I couldn't fit the set...now it's time to make a wider doorway. Nothing will stop me! Good luck!

 

[RichardJS]

Let me tell you my recent experience with buying a Toshiba 65H80 RPTV. When we were trying to decide if we could fit this into our basement, we took the measurements, and cut out a foot print. Based on this we felt that the TV would fit, but just by inches. Unfortunately we neglected to account for one detail. The TV weighs over 400 pounds. There was no way the movers were going to get that TV around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

Fortunately, this is not the end of the story. The store we had already told us that the TV could be cut in half (are you crazy I thought). Since we had little choice at this point, we arranged to have this done. We were told that this did not void the warranty, and that these people had been trained by the manufactures. We found out that the screen comes off, and the electronics and projection system comes out as a box, leaving just the wood frame with the mirror. The frame is then cut with a hand saw to minimize the material loss, and all the pieces are easily moved to the final location. At this point the frame is re-assembled, and carefully aligned. Brackets are then used to hold it together, and everything is put back in place. When the technician came to tweak the alignment on the TV (this was part of the original sale), he said that it was no worse than would be expected from normal shipping. For us, this was a good mistake. We now have the TV we want (instead of a smaller one) in the basement where we are setting up our home theater around it.

 

[Chad Isaacs]

Well,have you thought about fp?you said you have pretty decent light control
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[Matt Taylor]

Ron,
I have the Pioneer SD-532-HD5 and a 29" doorway and a 90 degree turn going into the basement. That's what you get with a 54 year old house. Anyway, I bought the TV based on the set's measurements, making no mockup. The day they delivered the set, it fit. Not by much, but it fit.
You'd be surprised what a couple of ex-KU football players could do with a set that big. I would recommend using professional delivery people. Now I don't know if the TV will ever come out again, but it might!
Matt

 

[Ron S]

Thanks to all for the replies! Oy, a mockup of the footprint. Who would have thought common sense could be so useful? Here I was, all set to demonstrate my carpentry abilities by building a 3d model
Richard, that story IS scary! Glad things worked out for you, but think I might get a severe case of abdominal pain watching my baby get cut to fit... That's a nice size tv, btw.
Thought about flat panels a lot, considering the possibility of not being able to fit a regular big screen in. They are so expensive, though, and are not as flexible with native resolutions. I really like the 16:9 ratio idea, though. If worst comes to worst, I would have to get the 36 inch panasonic or wega. NOT exactly a booby prize, but not the 56 inch Panasonic I really want.
Matt, your story is VERY encouraging. The only reason I'm favoring the Pana over the Pioneer is the native 720p resolution support. From all I've read, I think I would be very happy with the Pioneer.
Think I'll get started with the plans for that mockup now

 

[Bill Catherall]

Ron, when Chad mentioned "fp" I don't think he was talking about "flat panels." I think he meant "front projection." You can easily fit a projector and a screen down those stairs and have any size picture you want. You could have a 10' picture!
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Bill

 

[Bill Broderick]

Before you abandon the 3D mock-up plan, you need to consider whether the height is an issue or not. My house is a Cape Cod, with very steep stairways. The stairs to the second floor are directly over the stairs to the basement, so the ceiling going down the stairs is parallel with the angle of the stairs. I was about to buy a 65" Toshiba, and at the last minute I decided to build a mock-up (I taped together a lot of curtain rods that had been left in my basement by a previous owner).
I found that there was no way that I was going to fit this TV down the stairs.
I know that the first thought is that height should be no problem, after all people walk down the stairs all the time and they are taller than a TV. However, when moving a TV down the stairs the height that you have to worry about is not 90 degrees from the treads of the stairs like it is when you walk, the height is 90 degrees from an imaginary line from the front of each stair to the next. That is the angle that you will be dealing with.
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